Paint Me A Portrait
by feedthecrow
Summary: AU, I remember the streets like it was just yesterday, the hissing sound that the aerosol paint can made, the adrenaline pumping through my veins, the fear of getting caught, the relief that washed over me as I painted. I don't live that life anymore but I'm still as lonely as I was then. SakuxKaka University Life.
1. The Grand Optimist

**PAINT ME A PORTRAIT**

_I fear I'm dying from complications_

_Complications due to things that I've left undone_

_That all my debts will be left unpaid_

_Feel like a cripple without a cane_

_I'm like a jack of all trades_

_Who's a master of none. - City & Colour_

xxxxx

Grief overcame me as I released a groan of defeat; I had been spending the last two days locked up in my studio in a desperate attempt to complete the multiple projects I had due at the end of the month and I was finally reaching the end of my limit.

To the untrained eye, the canvas before me would have been considered a completed work but I knew better. Being in my third year the expectations of my work were much higher and demanding and at best what was done now would be given a C.

A loud grumble from my stomach dragged me away from my internal debate whether to pull an all nighter or not and I glanced at the clock on the wall. Six-thirty, that seemed like a reasonable time to take a break for something to eat.

I grabbed my paint brushes and set them into a glass of water, promising myself to clean them later, then screwed the caps back onto the open tubes of paint. Walking over to the sink at the back of the studio I washed my hands and contemplated what I felt like eating tonight.

Cheap chinese take out sounded heavenly.

Drying my hands on a random cloth hanging over the faucet I briefly wondered where my sensei/foster father had meandered off too. Shutting the lights off to the studio and locking up, I shouldered my backpack and went to search for the ever elusive dean of the Konoha University of the Arts.

xxxxx

It wasn't difficult to find Minato if you knew where to look, he was a well involved dean and loved to drop into classrooms unannounced to view the students' artwork and most often you would find him poking around the drawing studios. There were two reasons for this, one being that his best friend and partner in crime; Jiraiya-sensei was a drawing professor and second being that those two were massive perverts and enjoyed ogling the live nude models brought in for students to sketch.

Kakashi rounded the corner that led to the hallway of drawing studios and tried to mask his mild irritation with his sensei, he hated peeking into classrooms in search of Minato as there would always be a few students bored out of their minds who would notice him and stare at him while he quickly glanced over faces for the golden-haired man. Kakashi did not like being the center of attention, he preferred the attention to be directed to his artwork rather than the artist himself but he understood that the artist was just as important of a factor as the work when it came to gallery openings.

Being only a third year Kakashi had yet to experience the awkward social situation of having his work displayed in a gallery and having to attend the opening reception to meet possible cliental. As a student it was very crucial for Kakashi to get his name and face memorized by as many people as he could, the more people who knew him the more opportunities he would have of them later calling on him for commissions or requests for his work.

Much of Kakashi's understanding of social politics in the art community stemmed from the many gallery openings he had attended with Minato, some of which were even openings for his own sensei's work. Kakashi tried not to let himself get too intimidated by the expectations of the 'artsy folk', he knew trying to surpass Minato's shadow was most likely impossible and so steeled himself to at least be on par with his sensei.

Kakashi silently reflected on how much his life had changed ever since Minato knocked on the door to his shoddy one bedroom apartment (if you could even call it that).

xxxxx

_Hiss. Clack. Clack. Clack. Hiss._

_Kakashi momentarily relaxed as the sound of the paint leaving the aerosol can in his hand was the only noise he could pick up in the alley way. He was always tense and on high alert when he was out 'beautifying' the walls of Konoha. Vandalizing sounded much too harsh for what he was doing and he reasoned a little color never hurt anyone. _

_Adjusting the bandana around his face to filter out the fumes, he squinted in the dark and analyzed his piece; the body was finished and the fill was a simple blue, all he needed now was to add more color and rework the lines and the piece would be done._

_He rummaged through his bag eagerly for another color and missed the footsteps drawing towards the alley._

xxxxx

The hallway was for the most part deserted, everyone having gone home for the day, the only exception was a classroom on the right with the door cracked open that had classical music drifting quietly out. Kakashi made his way to the classroom and slipped in quietly in hopes of not alerting anyone to his presence, he immediately received a silent glare from the model, which he ignored, and spotted a mop of blonde hair on the other side of the classroom.

Minato was settled in front of a drawing board, like the rest of the students, multi-tasking between chatting with Jiraiya and sketching the model. Kakashi grumbled to himself knowing that there would be no way to get his attention from across the room unless he called Minato's name and then that would drag everyone's eyes onto him. He opted instead to slink behind the students and make his way to the two old perverted men.

Kakashi unfortunately miscalculated a step (the amount of students and the size of the room had made his creeping quite awkward and difficult) and accidentally jostled one of the drawing students. _"Fuck." _He heard a whispered curse from the student he bumped into, he turned to mutter a quiet apology and was met with disapproving emerald green eyes. He blinked dumbly at the girl whose kissable full lips were now curled into a frown and his apology stuck in the back of his throat. He wasn't sure if he choked because of her expression or because her hair was the most peculiar shade of cherry blossom pink.

'_Haven't seen someone dye their hair __**that**__ color before...'_ He silently mused to himself as he thought about how art school introduced the conventions of alternatively dressed people and lifestyles as the norm. He sighed to himself as he noticed that she was now talking to him and he had not been listening in the slightest. _'She probably thinks I'm a clumsy idiot.'_

"_-fix it or what?" _

"_Huh?" _Kakashi responded, his logic reasoned if she already thought he was retarded he might as well play dumb. The pinkette seemed ready to lose her marbles before she took a deep breathe and pointed to her drawing board. Kakashi's gaze slipped away from her mesmerizing green eyes to look where her finger was pointed, his jostling had caused her to accidentally draw a line straight through the torso of what otherwise would have been a very technical and well drawn portrait of the nude model. Realization suddenly dawned on him as to why the girl was so peeved at him, if he was in her position he would've been too.

"_Aah__ my apologies, I didn't mean to ruin your lovely drawing." _Kakashi whispered, hoping flattery would get him somewhere. The girl said nothing, the frown still evident on her attractive features, and merely handed him the stick of charcoal in her charcoal-smudged hand. He discerned that that was she had meant earlier by fixing it and reluctantly grabbed the piece of charcoal out of her hands. The portrait was mostly ruined at this point from the line so he figured there was no harm in trying to fix it for her.

He smudged the line with his fingers and worked on making the values around it darker, with an eraser he tried his best to remove most of the line knowing that it would never fully disappear but would at least be less visible. After he was finished, the line was barely noticeable and the drawing had taken on much more value, something that was lacking prior to his accidental shove.

Kakashi handed the stick of charcoal back to the nonplussed girl and continued on his way to Minato, praying that no more incidents like that would happen. When he finally reached his sensei he was unsurprised to see a realistic and well drawn pair of breasts on the paper before him.

"Aah Kakashi, I haven't seen you around since I had you for drawing in your second year. How have you been?" Jiraiya asked pleasantly, albeit louder than Kakashi would have liked as he felt a few annoyed stares on his back.

"I've been well sensei, how is your next novel coming along?" Kakashi feigned curiosity, unbeknownst to Minato he was secretly quite a fan of Jiraiya's infamous pornographic novels: Icha Icha Paradise. The exciting story line appealed to him and he reasoned that by studying the 'complicated' positions the characters were drawn in he was taking an active role in his learning on how to improve his figure drawings, or at least that's what he told anyone who asked.

"It's going along marvelously, I've done quite a bit of research for this one and I'm sure you'll really like this one." Jiraiya winked as Minato turned and looked at him with a disapproving frown.

"Ha-ha very funny Jiraiya-sensei you know Minato-sensei doesn't approve of me reading such material." Kakashi joked, sending a sharp glare at Jiraiya when Minato's back was turned. One thing Minato did not approve of was his 'innocent' son reading pornographic novels written and drawn by the likes of one very perverted drawing professor that also happened to be his best friend.

"Well I think I'm finished for the day friend, I'll see you Thursday?" Minato questioned as he packed his things up, Jiraiya nodded and waved goodbye as the two made their leave. Kakashi stopped himself from sparing a glance at the pink-haired beauty he had bumped into and exited the classroom with the uncomfortable feeling of many eyes (including one from a pair of lovely jade orbs) on him and Minato.

xxxxx

_A slightly intoxicated Minato made his way home from a night of drinking and socializing with his old friends and fellow coworkers; Jiraiya and Tsunade, he was somewhat proud of himself for not being as drunk as he could've been considering his drinking partners. He felt the rapid urge to piss though and kept his eyes on the lookout for any nearby alleyway where he would be able to relieve himself._

_He spotted one and hobbled over to it unaware that there was another occupant in the alleyway and unzipped his fly, a clacking sound from what he assumed to come from an aerosol can alerted him of another's presence and he peered with unease at the individual. His eyes stopped however, on the painting the person was working on and he felt a small wave of awe wash over him. The lines were impeccably clean and the color scheme was very appealing to the eye, Minato noticed with delight that the dynamic typography read 'scarecrow' and an ironic but well painted scarecrow had been placed compositionally in between 'scare' and 'crow'. _

'_Whoever this person is they have excellent skill with line and color. I wonder if they go to the university..' Minato mused, he perked up and decided to approach the mysterious character in hopes of acquiring a name. (He would later defend himself when retelling the story to some friends that approaching a stranger in the midst of doing something illegal made perfect sense to a drunk person.) "Hey you there!" _

_Kakashi blanched, how did he not notice somebody in the alley? He cursed and grabbed the other paint can by his feet and bolted down the opposite side of the alley hoping the person who called out to him hadn't already contacted the cops. It was only after Kakashi was safely home and his adrenaline had drained that he had realized that his wallet had fallen out of his pocket._

xxxxx

"Kakashi you know how much I hate that filthy habit of yours." Minato grumbled as they exited the school. Kakashi shrugged and responded with taking another drag from his 'filthy habit'. Minato sighed, "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Takeout's fine, I can't stay too long tonight I'm behind on my assignments."

"As long as you hand them in on time, how is your abstract series coming along? I hope the artists I recommended you to research helped."

"Yes they did... Thank you." Kakashi grumbled in between drags from his 'filthy habit'. He remembered bitterly how he had come across the dangerous and unhealthy habit of smoking. He had taken up the habit as a means of coping with the events of one tragic night that occurred in his teens. Needless to say Obito would have not been happy with Kakashi's self deprecating life choices.

"Kakashi?" He was pulled out of his reverie and glanced at Minato questioningly, only to notice they were standing outside their favorite chinese take out place a couple blocks off campus. '_Wow I must've drifted off for some time...'_

"As I was saying, there are only a couple of weeks left before midterms start and I know a lot of your projects are due but I really hope you'll be able to make it to the opening reception of my show down on 17th on the 13th."

"I will try my best Minato, you know how it is. I promise if I can't make it that night I will make time to see your work before the exhibition is over."

A warm grin spread across Minato's face and he patted Kakashi's shoulder in adoration. "Now... Should we get the sweet and sour chicken or the barbecue pork?"

xxxxx

_Kakashi anxiously chewed on his lip, he had spent most of the night and the better half of the day expecting a knock on his door and two cops on the other side. Unfortunately his day had been quiet and filled with anxiety and he once again cursed himself for being such a careless idiot, not only had he exposed his identity to the mysterious person, his rent for next month was now gone._

_A sharp rap on the door pulled Kakashi away from his worrying and he felt a knot of unease form in his stomach, he walked the short distance to the door and peered through the peephole to find an older blonde haired man wearing some albeit quirky clothing with... his wallet in hand._

_The knot in Kakashi's stomach grew tighter as the man knocked on the door again, what was he going to do? He could pretend he wasn't home and make a run for it in case the guy contacted the cops but he'd never get his wallet back and his most prized possession was tucked into that wallet. Another knock on the door startled Kakashi out of his thoughts and he quickly tried to weigh his options._

"_Kakashi Hatake? Please answer the door I don't mean you any harm." _

_Kakashi swore heavily under his breath, he absently wondered what he had ever done to fall into these sort of situations. With a sigh and some semblance of resolve he opened the door._

"_Hello."_

"_I'm surprised you actually opened the door."_

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Well... You have my month's rent and you're not a cop... Well I hope you aren't."_

"_Ah yes, my name is Minato Namikaze and I'm the dean of the Konoha University of the Arts. I came to your doorstep today Kakashi because I would like to make you an interesting proposition."_

"_Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with last night..."_

"_I saw your work Kakashi and you young man have a lot of potential. I know a great artist when I see one although I have to say your choice of canvas is less than savory."_

_It suddenly dawned on Kakashi why Minato hadn't ratted him out to the authorities. "Your... proposition. What is it?"_

"_I want you to enroll as a student at my school.-" Kakashi was already ready to protest, he didn't accept hand outs."-I'll give you your wallet back if you agree."_

"_Didn't you come here to give my wallet back in the first place! Now you're trying coerce me with it?!" It was too generous of an offer to not be suspicious, who the hell would hand out free tuition to a post secondary institution just because he saw one painting? What if this guy had a connection to Obito's death? Kakashi's fists clenched, if this was a cruel joke someone was playing on him..._

"_No no no! Don't get me wrong! I would just really like you to consider, here's my number... and your wallet."_

_Minato left as abruptly as he had appeared leaving Kakashi standing on his doorstep a little dumb struck and suspicious. He stared down at the card in his hand and sighed heavily._

'_What should I do Obito...'_

xxxxx

Minato gave a muffled but satisfied burp and patted his stomach in stuffed bliss. Kakashi had been unusually quiet through the meal and he felt it was time to ask him what was on his mind.

"What's bothering you Kashi?" Minato prodded, purposely using his pet name for Kakashi in hopes of getting his attention.

"Don't call me that and I'm just thinking about a small altercation I had with a student today."

"Small? Kakashi you know I don't allow violence on my school grounds."

"No it wasn't like that. It was back in Jiraiya's class when I came to get you. I accidentally bumped into one of the girls and messed up her drawing and then she made me fix it." For some reason Kakashi couldn't get the beautiful young woman's angry jade eyes out of his mind. They were so captivating, bright, and he couldn't stop thinking about them, he felt inspired to paint. "Now that I think about it I didn't even catch her name."

Minato perked with interest, Kakashi never talked about ladies around him and for the longest time a small part of him wondered if his son was gay. This was later proven false when Minato had uncovered some of Jiraiya's pornographic novels under Kakashi's bed while cleaning.

"Did she have any distinctive features? I might know her, I usually try to get to know all the names of my promising students."

"Actually.. She had the most unusual shade of pink hair, not the typical hot magenta pink you usually see in the halls on those alternative chicks but a soft cherry blossom pink."

"Oh! That's Sakura Haruno! I remember her at the orientation, the young lady came right up to me and introduced herself and we had a very pleasant conversation about what she was interested in achieving at the college. I managed to get a glance at her portfolio as well and she's quite talented with a pencil, I can see why she may have been upset with you for ruining one of her sketches."

Kakashi blinked at the sudden flow of information and quickly processed. _Orientation? So she's a first year... _Not that it mattered to him he told himself, he was just curious whether he was likely to run into her again or not. The school was a moderate size so it wasn't impossible for someone to run into one another now and again but since Sakura was a freshman that meant that she would be going through her exploratory first year studies and would unlikely have any classes around the painting studios.

Kakashi found a small part of him was disappointed with this new information, it was unlikely he would get a chance to spot Sakura in the halls unless he went out of his way to linger around Jiraiya's class every Thursday afternoon. He glanced at the time and slumped dejectedly. "Hey Minato.. It's late, I'm going to get going and see if I can finish the project I have due for my Conceptual Painting 311 class before the night's over. You know how upset Kushina gets if I don't hand things in on time. Thanks for the food."

He gathered up his trash and threw it out in the garbage can before picking up his bag and leaving the two bedroom apartment that he shared with Minato. The brief walk to the university campus gave Kakashi enough time to gather his thoughts and he was sure of at least one thing; Haruno Sakura had most definitely caught his attention.


	2. Stubborn Love

**CHAPTER 2**

_She'll lie and steal and cheat,_

_And beg you from her knees_

_Make you think she means it this time_

_She'll tear a hole in you, the one you can't repair_

_But I still love her, I don't really care - The Lumineers_

xxxxx

Haruno Sakura was _not _having a pleasant day. She was rudely awoken this morning to the shrill screech of the fire alarm in her dorm going off; it was beyond her as to why anybody thought having a fire drill 6am in the morning was an excellent idea.

After her early start, things seemed to go quickly downhill from thereon.

Starting with:

Her printer crapping out on her while she tried to print out a reading response that was due today.

Because of her printer crapping out she was now forced to go to the school library incredibly early in the morning and wait at the doors until 8 for them to open.

This whole fiasco caused her to miss out on her morning caffeine which left her crabby and exhausted.

The library's printer was out of paper which was really more of an inconsequential thing but god dammit she wanted her coffee.

Her foul mood carried on to her scheduled class for the day; Drawing in Room 520 with Jiraiya. Despite her crankiness she felt some relief wash over her as she entered the studio with tool box and portfolio in hand, she was comfortable here (except for Jiraiya's occasional perverted leers) as long as she had a pencil and a piece of paper in front of her she could work to her little heart's content and nobody would dare bother her.

And with that thought in mind Sakura plopped herself down in front of a drawing board and went about setting up her work space. Today they would be drawing from a live nude model, something Sakura preferred over regular class assignments not just because it kept Jiraiya distracted from hitting on his students (at least when they had female models) but also because she enjoyed drawing from a live reference rather than a photographic one.

She patiently waited in her seat as she watched her other classmates trickle in, she could easily spot the ones that lived in the dorms by their tired and haggard appearance.

'_Stupid fire alarm.'_

"Hurry hurry and get yourselves set up, we don't want to waste any of the time I err-we have with the model today." Jiraiya called out as he strode into the studio, Sakura refrained from rolling her eyes at his choice of words.

'_Pervert.'_

Shortly after the model appeared and Sakura quickly assessed her work subject, it was a young female with long brunette hair, brown eyes, and a very voluptuous form. Sakura started collecting her drawing utensils until she was armed with what she needed and then popped her earbuds in and turned her music player on.

Three hours passed away in a blur of charcoal smudges, eraser shavings, and sheets of newsprint recycled paper before Sakura was finally allowed a short break in which she treated herself to a well-deserved cup of joe. She slowly returned to the studio, lingering here and there in the hallway to look at other students' work posted on the walls. She glanced curiously as she returned to her work space and spotted the dean chatting with Jiraiya.

The dean was a handsome young man, not that she would admit it to anyone aloud. His sunshine blonde hair and azure blue eyes vividly reminded her of her friend Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura couldn't help but let her thoughts drift back to her first day at the university.

xxxxx

"_Neh Sakura look at how many people are here! Do you think they're all first years?" Naruto questioned excitedly as he wandered around the main hall with his two best friends in tow. An irritable black haired man sighed as he felt Naruto's hand clamp onto his arm and drag the pinkette and him to another booth. "Don't be such a downer Sasuke it's orientation it's suppose to be exciting and fun and stuff!"_

"_Yeah Sasuke, cheer up a little. This is a first time experience for the all of us." Sakura commented as she tried to wriggle herself out of Naruto's grasp. She didn't appreciate being dragged from one place to another. _

_Sasuke grumbled something intelligible in response. He was all for them spending time together and was happy that they had gotten accepted into KUA but he wasn't much of a socializer and he was starting to get irritable mingling with so many people. All he wanted to do was go back to his dorm, take a shower, and relax for the rest of the day._

_Sakura managed to free herself from Naruto's clutches and spotted a tall blonde man in a suit shaking hands with some students. She immediately recognized him as the dean of the school from his picture on the school's website and decided to introduce herself, after all it was always good to make important connections early on in her career._

_She slipped past the crowds of people and patiently waited her turn to speak to him. When it was finally her turn she greeted him with a confident smile on her face and shook his hand firmly._

"_Hello Mr. Namikaze I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Haruno Sakura and I'll be beginning my studies at your school this year."_

"_It is a pleasure to meet you Sakura, please call me by my first name Minato." The dean replied with a grin, he always liked meeting new promising students. "Mr. Namikaze sounds much too professional, I want my students to view me as a friend or a confidant you know? I started this school because I wanted to give young artists a chance to blossom and prosper in an environment where creativity and ingenuity is encouraged."_

"_Well then I suppose I'm in the right place." Sakura laughed as she anxiously fiddled with the book-sized portfolio in her hand. _

_Minato chuckled along with her, his eyes flickering to her fidgeting hand. _

"_So Sakura what would you like to accomplish here?" _

"_Ah well I'm hoping to major in drawing, from there on I'm not quite sure." She remarked, biting her lip, something that was a nervous tick of hers._

_Minato smiled encouragingly back and shook his head. _

"_Don't worry about Sakura, you still have 4 years to make that decision. Now correct me if I'm wrong but is that book you're holding with you your portfolio?"_

"_A-ah yes it is. I-sorry if this seems a little presumptuous but I'd really appreciate it if you could take a look and let me know what you think." Sakura stuttered, she knew she was nervous because __**the**__ Minato Namikaze would be looking at her work and the very idea made her whole body loose and shaky._

"_No no I would love to see it. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to see the kind of potential I have attending my school and I always love to give fellow artists some constructive criticism." He took the portfolio out of Sakura's outstretched hand and started flipping through the work inside. A serene smile grew on his face as his eyes scanned over the work. "My this is really detailed work here Sakura, I have to say you really are a talented drawer. You're enrolled for Realism Drawing 110 yes?"_

_Sakura could only nod in reply at the shock of getting praise from such a well-known and talented artist. She shifted uncomfortably as he started reaching the end of the book where she had some of her amateur photography. Most of the time she relied on a camera to document something she'd like to draw later but last Christmas Sasuke had gifted her an old polaroid camera for her to play around and use. _

_She knew she wasn't as knowledgable as Sasuke when it came to the technicalities behind photography but he had shown her some basics and she was quite proud, albeit a little nervous, of the few photos she placed in the back of her portfolio._

_Minato paused at the last few pages and his eyebrows furrowed a little as he examined the photos more thoroughly. Sakura waited silently as he finished looking through the rest of her work before taking her portfolio back from him and waiting expectantly for his thoughts._

"_Your photography is interesting although a little underdeveloped. From what I saw of your photo-realism drawings I would assume you usually relied on a camera for documenting things but what I saw near the end of your portfolio definitely held some interesting concepts. It had a sort of character to them hmm.. They made me feel like I was seeing your friends and family from your point of view. I'd very much enjoy it if you took that idea further sometime in your exploratory year, if you have room in your schedule of course."_

"_Thank you Minato, I'm still very new to the workings of photography but I'm glad that my concept was clear and relatable. It actually made me a little nervous for you to see them." She laughed, charmed that Minato praised her work. She chatted with him for a little while more, talking about the classes she was looking forward too, and the ones she wasn't so much, as well as her friends Naruto and Sasuke and what they were here to major in before finally bidding him goodbye and rejoining her two boys before they started fighting with each other._

_Minato watched her leave, pleased to have had a lovely conversation with such a bright, promising student, before being pulled into another with someone else._

xxxxx

From across the room Minato caught her gaze and smiled, Sakura couldn't help returning the smile back as she settled herself back into her work space.

The model walked back in as Sakura cracked her back, they were now moving on to one hour poses which meant she now had time to add more detail and value to her sketches.

Two poses later she was halfway through sketching her third one when she felt someone jostle her from behind. She stared, dismayed, as her drawing now had a line right through the chest of the woman, looking completely out of place and ruining her hard work. Her lips turned down into a grim line before she glared angrily at the perpetrator.

She found herself faced with an attractive man whom looked to be in his early 20s, he had messy pale white hair sticking up in a way that looked like he had just rolled out of bed and two dark grey eyes. The bottom half of his face was obscured with a large chunky scarf but Sakura could spot a straight nose and two full lips underneath, and a hint of stubble. She would've blushed had she not been so upset at the moment.

"Do you have any idea what you just did? Are you going to fix it or what?" She seethed as he looked at her blankly, was he even listening to her?

"Huh?"

Sakura tried to control herself from strangling him, and took a deep breath to reign in her temper. She then pointed at her drawing board to show him his handiwork.

"Aah my apologies, I didn't mean to ruin your lovely drawing." He whispered smoothly, she stopped herself from snorting at him. Flattery was going to get him nowhere, she had three drawings to hand in at the end of class and there was no way she was going to have enough time to start a new one. She eyed the line distastefully, how was she going to fix this mistake? She handed him her piece of charcoal because for all intensive purposes he was going to at least attempt to fix it.

She watched him as he visibly hesitated before reluctantly grabbing the charcoal out of her hand. He paused as he surveyed the drawing closer before smudging some lines and sketching in some value.

Sakura found herself taking in the scent of his cologne as he invaded her personal space, hovering just slightly above her shoulder with his arm nearly touching hers. She could pick out a subtle musk with spicy notes mixed with the slight aroma of turpentine and cigarette smoke that seemed to emanate from his clothes.

Looking at his hands working, she could pick out paint of varying colors staining them and realized this man was most likely a painting major. She wondered out of curiosity what kind of paintings he did and briefly why he was hanging around the drawing studios to begin with when the painting studios resided a floor above.

The feeling of someone brushing her arm made her look up from her thoughts and at her drawing. For the most part the line had been subtly blended in and would be barely noticeable unless someone pointed it out and was passable in her eyes. Sakura gave him a brief nod of acceptance as she took the charcoal from his hand and returned to her drawing, keeping an eye on him as he tiptoed around the rest of the class before stopping in front of the dean.

She could tell by the smile on Minato's face and Jiraiya's friendly greeting that they were all very familiar with each other.

'_Is he one of the profs for painting...? He can't be he's much too young. Gosh Sakura stop it, focus on your work. It's unlike you to be so nosy.'_

Sakura berated herself as she tried to ignore Jiraiya's voice, refusing to eavesdrop. She glanced around the classroom and noticed a few of her classmates had stopped working to stare at the silver-haired man.

'_Look at them they're just as bad as Ino-pig. Just finish this drawing, you only have forty-five minutes left of class time.'_

Shaking her head, she bit her lip and tried to focus on her work. Frustratingly she felt her eyes drifting towards the man more so than her paper and she couldn't help a defeated sigh escape her lips.

But just as Sakura was preparing herself to discreetly sneak a glance at the man, the dean stood up and gathered his things and headed for the door with said man trailing behind him. She couldn't help following him with her eyes as he walked out the door and disappointingly out of her life.

xxxxx

"Alright everybody today was a great class, I saw some really good, well-proportioned figure drawings and I think everybody is improving. I'll send you all an e-mail later tonight reviewing our next assignment and I hope you all have a good weekend." Jiraiya shouted while students started trailing out of the door.

Sakura felt herself oddly lagging behind as she packed her things at a turtle's pace. She was desperately curious to interrogate Jiraiya on some juicy information on the mystery man, for example his name, but she felt it would make her look nosy in front of her professor. She was so caught up with her internal dialogue that she nearly missed Jiraiya talking to her.

"Sakura I noticed you had a little spat earlier with Kakashi. What was that all about if you don't mind me asking?"

'_Kakashi... where have I heard that name before?'_

"Oh umm, he bumped into me and ruined my drawing but he managed to cover up his mistake so I let him off the hook. I'm guessing you've taught him in the past?" Sakura questioned as she gingerly rolled her big sketch pad up into a tube.

A small grin grew on Jiraiya's face and for a moment he looked as if he were reliving a memory. "Ah yes I did. I taught him in first year and again for figure drawing 210, he had such an excellent way of drawing the female form... Makes me wish he had pursued a career in drawing instead."

Sakura didn't miss the drool leaking out of her professor's mouth. She stifled the temptation to roll her eyes and was about to ask another question when Jiraiya's phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. Without delay, the professor dug his phone out and quickly read the message before saying a prompt but polite goodbye to Sakura.

With a sigh, Sakura stored her questions for Jiraiya somewhere in her mind, she'd interrogate him further the next time she had an opportunity. Turning around and picking up her things she set off towards the ceramics department in hopes of finding her favorite blonde.

xxxxx

"Sakura-chan! How was your drawing class?" Naruto asked with a bright smile, Sakura couldn't help but give a heartfelt smile in return. The blonde was seated at a pottery wheel and was working on what seemed to be a bowl of sorts.

Sakura walked over to stand behind him and peer over his shoulder as his clay-covered hands dexterously worked the material into a large bowl. "It was okay, a little strange though. This guy bumped into me and ruined my drawing and then tried flirting with me to get out of it. Are you making another ramen bowl?"

Naruto let his foot up off the pedal that was spinning the wheel and craned his head back. "I sure am! My professor thinks it's awesome that I'm making these custom ramen bowls and he wants to see more. What did you do to the guy? Do you want me and Sasuke to go kick his butt?"

Sakura shook her head, "No no it's okay, I made him fix it and you can barely see the mistake that he caused. I don't think he's a first year since I haven't seen him around the school before."

"What was he doing in a first year drawing class then?" Naruto asked as he carefully slid the bowl onto a wood panel and over to his workspace. Sakura followed him, being careful to mind the other students and not to upset any of their work.

"You remember how I mentioned the dean always comes to my drawing class every Thursday to draw with us? I think he was there for Minato because they left together shortly after he talked to him." Sakura speculated.

Naruto was always her partner in crime when it came to solving problems or things that were troubling her. He was always easier to talk too than Sasuke and she felt more comfortable coming to him about these things.

She brushed off a seat close to Naruto before sitting down and watched as he put slip onto some handles he made. His face twisted up into concentration as he attached the handles to his bowl, being careful to be exact and delicate with his application for fear of squishing the whole thing.

"Why are you attaching handles?" Sakura interrupted, curiosity piqued.

"So when I make ramen I have an easier time tilting the bowl so I can slurp up the rest of the broth!" Naruto breathed as he set the other handle as perfectly as the last. "Did you get a name from your obnoxious bumper?"

"Yes actually, but only a first name. Jiraiya said his name was Kakashi."

Naruto nodded his head and pretended to write notes down as if he were a sleuth collecting important facts, Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his impersonation. "I'll google him tonight Sakura-chan."

"Naruto! Stop using google as your source for creeping people." Sakura shouted as she gave her friend a shove, almost pushing Naruto into the bowl he was working on.

"Ahh Sakura-chan! Watch the work, watch the work!" He repeated in panic, the last thing he wanted to do was start all over again.

Sakura blushed, realizing her mistake. "Sorry, I was just complaining about somebody ruining my work and I almost did the same to you. Sheesh I'm a mess today."

"A beautiful hot mess." Naruto added with a wink, Sakura rolled her eyes but a silly smile on her face told otherwise.

xxxxx

"You know I can carry my own things Naruto." Sakura mumbled as she picked at the dried clay on her sweater.

The two had spent the rest of the evening talking and hanging out and now they were walking back to the dorms. Naruto always the gentleman, offered (took without her permission) to carry her things for her.

"It's fine, Sakura-chan, they aren't that heavy anyway and I don't mind."

Sakura huffed as she realized she wasn't going to get her things back until they were at her dorm. She followed Naruto as they turned another corner and climbed up a set of stairs. "Where are we going Naruto?"

"We're just taking a shortcut through the painting studios, trust me it's quicker this way than the way you take."

Sakura bit back a comment about men and directions as she walked down the hallway, after all he was carrying her things. She took a gander at her surroundings and observed in quiet awe at all the breath-taking paintings on the walls. As they made their way further down the hallway, Sakura spied a mop of snow-white hair out of the corner of her eye.

"What the-Naruto quick, hide." She whispered in alarm as she quickly pulled him out of view. Naruto looked at her questioningly until she silently pointed at the owner of the white mop of hair, whom was currently standing with his back to them in one of the studios.

"Sakura-chan, is that him?"

She nodded as she bit her lip nervously. _'What am I afraid of? He's just a guy.'_

"Do you want to turn around and go the other way?" Naruto asked quietly. He had learned his lesson by now not to question Sakura's actions, if she didn't want that guy to see her then he wouldn't argue.

She shook her head and straightened her posture. "No you're carrying all my things and I'm just being ridiculous. Let's go Naruto."

Despite her confident stance, Sakura walked a little faster then necessary as Naruto kept pace with her. She mentally berated herself for acting silly, so what if he saw her? Unfortunately right after she completed her train of thought he turned around and their eyes met briefly.

'_Shit shit shit!.'_

Thankfully the exit was near and they disappeared before Kakashi had the chance to say anything.

Cold air met Sakura's face and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She could feel her heart racing in her chest and turned to Naruto who had a silly smirk plastered on his face, immediately they burst out laughing.

"We're a bunch of idiots Naruto, let's go home." Sakura giggled. They spent the rest of the walk home impersonating famous spy characters and laughing at each other.

* * *

AN: Hey guys I'm looking for a beta-reader if anyone is interested.


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